Where Mugshot Exposure Is Being Used for Blackmail

October 24, 2025 online privacy

An old mugshot can resurface years later — sometimes without warning — and be used as leverage for money or control. Across the internet, mugshot exposure has become a quiet form of blackmail, targeting people who are simply trying to move on with their lives.

What began as a public record for transparency has turned into a marketplace for humiliation. Mugshot websites, social platforms, and data brokers now host millions of arrest photos. And for some, removal comes only after paying a price — often more than once.

What Is Mugshot Exposure?

A mugshot is a booking photo taken by police after an arrest. It’s supposed to help law enforcement identify a suspect and aid in target identification during subsequent lineup procedures. But once that image enters a public database, it can circulate indefinitely, leading to widespread exposure of mugshots.

Today, mugshot exposure refers to the widespread posting, sharing, or sale of these photos across the web — often with names, ages, addresses, and arrest details attached. This widespread dissemination is a key factor in the mugshot exposure effects observed in both social and legal contexts, including the mugshot commitment effect and retroactive interference that can significantly impair target identification.

Studies involving mugshot exposure have revealed possible biasing effects on eyewitness identification, including simple retroactive interference and unconscious transference errors. These biasing effects are substantial moderators of both, as shown in two separate meta-analyses examining the impact of prior mugshot exposure on subsequent lineup accuracy.

Sites that publish mugshots claim to offer a “public service.” In reality, they often profit from people’s fear of judgment and social stigma. Even when charges are dropped or expunged, those photos stay online, resurfacing in search results and social media posts long after a case is closed, contributing to source confusion and unconscious transference among viewers.

How Mugshots Become Tools for Blackmail

The mechanics of mugshot blackmail are straightforward — and cruel.
After a booking photo becomes public, it’s scraped by mugshot sites and republished elsewhere. Many of these sites then demand payment to remove the image, exploiting the victim’s anxiety and fear of social consequences. Others impersonate “reputation repair” services, taking fees with no intent to act.

Once money changes hands, the cycle often repeats. The same image reappears on new sites, and new demands follow.
Victims are told to pay again or risk wider exposure — a digital “whack-a-mole” that drains money and hope.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has classified these pay-for-removal schemes as deceptive practices. Still, enforcement is difficult because most operators hide behind offshore domains, privacy shields, or fake corporate names.

Some sites even use automated bots to repost deleted images, ensuring a steady stream of “removal fees.” The business thrives on anxiety and shame — two of the most powerful motivators online.

Where Mugshot Exposure Thrives

Mugshot blackmail operates through several key channels — each exploiting the internet’s permanence and searchability.

1. Mugshot Websites

Sites like Mugshots.com, Busted Newspaper, and Arrests.org collect booking photos from local law enforcement databases. They label the information as “public record,” but then monetize it by charging $100 to $500 per takedown.

Even when laws prohibit pay-for-removal models, many of these sites simply rebrand under new URLs. According to FTC data and state-level investigations, several of these companies have faced fines or been forced offline — only to reappear months later.

States such as California, Florida, Georgia, and Texas now restrict the commercial publication of mugshots, but enforcement remains inconsistent.

2. Social Media and Online Platforms

On platforms like Facebook, X (Twitter), and Reddit, mugshot exposure spreads through posts and reposts. People often share these images to shame others, unaware that the person may have been cleared of charges.

For blackmailers, social media acts as an amplifier. Once an image goes viral, threats to “expose” or “resurface” it becomes powerful leverage. Even after content removal, reposts can reappear through new accounts — making full erasure nearly impossible.

Ethical hackers and privacy advocates now monitor platforms using AI detection tools to flag repeated uploads of mugshots. But the scale of reposting makes prevention an uphill battle.

3. Personal and Professional Relationships

Mugshot exposure doesn’t only happen through websites. It can emerge within personal circles — from an ex-partner, an employer, or an acquaintance who uses the image for blackmail.

Threats can range from “I’ll send this to your boss” to “Pay me, or I’ll post it again.”
These cases are prevalent among people on probation or recently cleared of charges, where the fear of renewed public scrutiny is highest.

The FTC and Cyber Civil Rights Initiative report steady increases in image-based extortion that mirror revenge porn tactics, often using mugshots or arrest photos as the trigger.

The Psychological and Social Toll

For victims, the damage goes beyond embarrassment.
An old mugshot can block job offers, rental applications, and social connections. The image becomes a digital scar — visible to employers, clients, and even children years later.

A 2022 Pew Research Center study found that 41% of Americans worry about being permanently judged by old online information. Mugshots exemplify that fear — turning one moment into a lifetime of explanation.

Research reveals that mugshot viewing accompanied by verbal questions about a particular action can cause false recognition effects, where even innocent individuals may be misremembered as criminals after exposure. Once a face becomes associated with “arrest,” the brain struggles to separate memory from implication, leading to later false recollections and false memories. These effects are often exacerbated in recognition tests and subsequent lineup identifications, where prior mugshot exposure can significantly reduce witness accuracy and increase the false-alarm rate.

Studies involving mugshot exposure have shown that the mugshot commitment effect acts as a substantial moderator, influencing both the decrease in proportion correct and the increase in false alarms. This effect remained consistent across trials involving actors in a proximate temporal context with the target person, implicating false recollection as a key mechanism behind the biasing effects.

Participants viewed sequences of mugshots accompanied by verbal questions about different actions, which led to specific associations resulting in false memories during later recognition tests. The third meta-analysis of these studies found a large effect size for transference errors in mugshot-exposure contexts, compared with bystander studies without such exposure.

Legal Efforts and State-Level Reform

Over the past decade, states have begun taking action to address the harms caused by mugshot exposure.

• California, Texas, and Florida now penalize the publication of commercial mugshots.
• Georgia and Oregon prohibit charging for removal.
• Connecticut and Colorado expanded expungement rights, requiring agencies to clear online data within a set timeframe.

The FTC has pursued civil penalties under Section 5 of the FTC Act, while courts have recognized privacy violations as a growing area of digital harm.

Still, laws vary widely, and loopholes allow mugshot companies to relocate or relaunch under new domains. Without a unified federal standard, enforcement remains reactive rather than preventive.

How to Respond if You’re Targeted

If your mugshot has been posted online or used in a blackmail attempt, you can take practical steps:

1. Don’t pay extortion demands

Paying often leads to repeat requests. Keep records of messages, emails, and payment requests for law enforcement.

2. Report the activity

File a complaint with the FTC, your state attorney general, or local law enforcement. Attach screenshots or URLs as evidence.

3. Use legitimate removal channels

Google’s “Outdated Content” tool allows you to request the removal of old pages from search results.
Some states also provide direct takedown forms for arrest data after expungement.

4. Work with reputable privacy professionals

Verified services — not anonymous removal sites — can suppress outdated listings through SEO and legal channels.

5. Monitor your digital footprint

Set up Google Alerts for your name and track where your image appears. Quick action reduces long-term damage.

The Broader Impact of Mugshot Exposure

Mugshot exposure doesn’t just harm individuals — it reshapes how society perceives guilt and redemption.
When arrest photos outlast the legal process, they blur the line between accusation and conviction. The public forgets the difference, and the internet never does.

Legal reforms help, but until mugshot websites lose their financial incentive, blackmail will persist.
Transparency should never come at the cost of human dignity.

Final Takeaway

Mugshots were created as an investigative tool — not a lifelong sentence.
But in the digital age, they’ve become weapons for profit, coercion, and humiliation.

Fighting mugshot blackmail means pushing for stronger privacy laws, ethical data use, and awareness of your digital rights.
No one should have to pay to reclaim their own name.